Jigsaw Puzzle
by lollipopstick
Summary: Hell? Not really. Heaven? Not quite there yet. A love triangle. Petty Rivalries. And a truckload of homework. Hey, who ever said that school was dull. [AU]


**Jigsaw Puzzle**

-**Series: **_Naruto_

-Alternate Universe

-PG-13

-Pairings _NaruHina __NaruSaku __SasuSaku __NejiTen __ShikaIno __ShikaTema_

**Summary**: Hell? Not really. Heaven? Not quite there yet. A love triangle. Petty Rivalries. And a truckload of homework. Hey, who ever said that school was dull.

Jealousy. Rivalry. Hate. Envy. Spite. Greed. Malice. Desire. Sometimes, one would wonder how a group of people so different from each other could be friends. What happens when a group of friends get torn in two due to a bad dose of jealousy, love, envy, pride and misunderstandings? How do you pick up the broken pieces?

**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, yah. :)

_Where is the moment we needed the most  
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost  
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey  
They tell me your passion's gone away  
And I don't need no carryin' on_

-**_Daniel Powter, Bad day_**

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The summer sun glared down on the tanned brunette and she sighed, wedging her lobelia blue cap further down her forehead. Not that she mind the sun, she just didn't appreciate being sweaty. Armed with a tattered basketball under her arm, the girl wiped off the beads of sweat cascading down her cheeks.

It was the last day of the holidays and Tenten wanted to enjoy herself before hitting the books again when the new school term starts. Damned teachers. She barely had time to relax with the amount of homework assigned.

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"Hoy! Yagima Tenten!"

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Her footsteps halted and she looked over her shoulders, brows raised. Speeding on a bright orange bicycle, a tall blonde raised his hand, waving violently to get her attention.

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"Yo!" he grinned, flashing a peace sign.

"Ohayo, Naruto," greeted the girl and she eyed the pile of newspaper stuffed in the basket of his bicycle.

"I hope you're doing a good job, paperboy."

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Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head, cycling slowly, in pace with his russet-haired friend.

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"Heh! I like this job. So… what's my favorite sports girl doing on the last day of the holidays?"

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Grinning, she hurled the basketball over to him. The boy blinked and skewed his bike to his right, arms stretched as he expertly caught the ball. A wide, smug smirk met an impressed smile.

She always knew that he was good. Wait. Scratch that. He was beyond good. Dare she say it? He might be even on par with the ever-so-famous Uchiha. And it was a good thing that Uchihas couldn't read minds –or else she'd be dead by now.

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"So, you haven't gotten rusty after all, eh, Naruto?" she teased.

"Hah! You wish!"

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Eyeing him from the corner of her eyes, she bit her lip, pondering on whether she should ask. Ah, hell. Might as well.

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"Na-ru-to."

"Ya-gi-ma Ten-ten."

"Mmrh…"

"Hmm?"

"Why'd you quit basketball?"

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The boy came to a curt stop. Ah. A touchy subject, that she knew.

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"Uchiha? Sabaku Gaara? …It wasn't your fault, you know."

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Silence fell. The blonde smiled sadly, before sparing a forced smile.

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"Ja ne, Tenten! I've got tons of papers to deliver! And I promised to meet Sakura-Chan at the bookstore! You know how she gets when she's mad. See you!"

"Eh- Naruto!"

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She watched him cycle downhill, leaving her alone on the pavement. The brunette shook her head and sighed.

_When is he ever going to learn that running never solves anything? _

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_Konoha High Institution (Hostel): Block B, Room #01-23B_

Hinata sighed; brows furrowed creasing wrinkles on her forehead. She never did liked being the new girl in school. And it didn't help that she was transferred, smack right in the middle of the year.

With a big huff, the petite girl dragged her luggage along the corridor, searching for her apartment.

There was barely anyone around granted that it was the last day of the break.

_-_

_What were the odds?_

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Hmm. Now that she thought about it, she really was unlucky. Whimpering, she seated herself on the cement floor, head perched on her knees.

A jingle of keys caught her attention. The uniformed wooden oak door, a few apartments away creaked open and out stepped, a scowling teenage boy garbed in a basketball jersey with a pair of dark Bermudas.

She prayed that he was sane person. Or at least nice enough to give her directions. (_Even if he did look a -_tad-_ bit scary_)

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"Gaara! Stop!"

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Brilliant hues of green reeled at the girl who was standing by the doorway. If she thought the boy was scary, than the girl was terrifying.

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"If you dare take another step-"

"Temari. I'm _fine_," retorted the boy heatedly.

"What if you got hurt- ?"

"Tema_ri_."

"Argh!"

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The girl looked ready to break Gaara's neck. Though, judging by the boy's lean build, Hinata quite doubted that she could. The girl heaved a resigned sigh and idly waved her hand.

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"Fine, fine. You can go."

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Slinging his bag over his shoulders, the boy walked away.

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"Be careful!"

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Hinata regarded the girl carefully and watched as she slowly turned away and -_Smack!_- The girl's eyes went wide with shock as the piece of paper slapped her across the cheek. Then, slowly she turned around, eyes narrowed to slits.

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"_Uzumaki Naruto!_"

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A gust of wind blew past her and Hinata found herself staring at a speedily retreating orange back. Inclining his head to the right, the paperboy gave a loud guffaw when he saw a striking red mark on Temari's face.

Eyes dancing with mischief, he hollered, "Now you don't have to use your blusher anymore, eh? You could tell Yamanaka too!"

A smile unknowingly traced her lips, and she watched as the boy easily dodged the newspaper flung at him.

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"Come back here, ramen-boy!"

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The teen huffed, shaking her fist at the boy (who was speeding off, still cackling, mind you) and stomped back into her apartment.

The door slammed shut with a deafening bang and Hinata blinked, realizing that she was back at square one. An empty corridor. Darn it.

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" Room #01-23B is down this block. Four doors away from the main office."

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Blinking again, the dark-haired girl spun around and came face to face with a loud yawn. The boy with a rather weird ponytail handed her crumpled address paper and strolled lazily up the stairway.

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"Stupid stairs. How troublesome…"

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Uchiha Sasuke was not the definition of a gentleman. He was rich, yes. Smart, athletic, popular and ah, of course, good-looking. But gentleman? No, siree.

Still, he did a few good deeds here and there. Hey, he was human too. Just yesterday, he donated a penny to a homeless man. He expected to be met with a simple '_thank you_' whenever a good deed was carried out but instead, he got _this_.

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"Sa.ku.ra."

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The girl was alarmed, pale emerald eyes stared dully at him.

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"Ahh…"

"…"

"Err…"

"…"

"Uh…"

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Sharp obsidian eyes glared down at her and tilting her head to the side, she spared him a soft smile.

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"Sasuke. That's not the book I'm looking for."

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His left brow twitched. If Uchihas could shriek, he already would have.

"Ah."

The pink-haired girl gave a gentle nod and sauntered down the aisle of bookshelves, eyes scanning wearily for the book, hopping up and bending down in search of it.

Sakura coughed and Sasuke arched a questioning brow.

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"It's just the common flu. Don't worry," she reassured him with a grin.

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Raising another brow, he turned away and Sakura sighed.

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"I know, I know. You're not worried."

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Sasuke was bored. He never had a fetish for books and he certainly didn't want to spend the last day of the break stuffed in a bookstore.

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"Sakura. Hurry up," he frowned, plopping himself on a box.

"Hai. Let's go!"

"…The book?"

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The girl turned to him, a mane of cherry locks framing her face.

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"I can't find it," she replied with a small impish grin.

"So you made me sit through that for nothing?" he smirked.

"Yup!"

"Oh, really? Well, then. You owe me a treat."

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Sakura pouted and crossed her arms.

"But you're already rich."

"Pretend I'm poor, then."

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Sakura stuck out her tongue and tucked her hands into her sleeveless white hoodie. Spinning around, she skipped towards the exit, pushing the glass door open, followed closely by her moody childhood friend.

Sunlight poured down and Sasuke cupped his hand over his eyes as he climbed down the steps.

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"Naruto!"

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A short burst of laughter erupted. A tall blonde with sun-kissed hair flailing in the air, grinning from ear to ear, picked up the girl and twirled her around effortlessly.

She playfully slapped his hand away as he ruffled her pick tendrils affectionately. Naruto gasped in mock grief, one hand gripping his heart and the other sneakily stole her wallet from the back pocket of her shorts.

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"Oi! Give it back!"

"How about treating your favorite childhood friend to his favorite childhood snack?" he suggested, holding her bunny wallet high in the air as Sakura jumped up and down.

"I'm already treating my _other_ favorite childhood friend!" she cried.

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Naruto's went limp for a moment and Sakura seized the chance to snatch her plush wallet away.

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"Who?"

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Sakura beamed and pointed to the entrance of the bookstore.

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"There!"

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Cerulean orbs blinked at her and Naruto's coarse palm made its way to her forehead.

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"So, you _are _having a fever. C'mon Sakura. Let me take you home before you start talking to your imaginary friends again," kidded the blonde as he picked her up and placed her onto the passenger seat of his bike.

"Huh?"

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Brow knitted with confusion, she turned her head around. A crumpled can of drink flew by. Sasuke had left.

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"You okay, Sakura-Chan?"

"Hmm? Ah."

"So…How about that treat?"

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There was loud bonk and a haughty huff.

"Aawww! C'mon. It was a joke!"

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**A/N**: My fist Naruto fic. Hope it's okay. I don't know Tenten's last name, thus I made one up. So should I continue? D: Read and review!


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